Prehistoric Marine Predators

Megalodon

Tylosaurus

Livyatan

Pliosaurus a.k.a. Predator X

Elasmosaurus

Kronosaurus

Basilosaurus

Dunkleosteus

The biggest shark to swim the seas

Shastasaurus

Size

Biography

Size

Biography

Biography

Body Structure

Biography

Biography

Size

• Carnivorous diet
• Aptian to Albian time (113-100 million years ago)
• Apex predator
• Had razor sharp teeth to rip apart large prey
• Skeleton found:

• Found in Canada and USA
• Maastrichtian period (72-66 million years ago)
• Used tail to propel through the water
• contained more than 80 vertebrae
• Also used tail to steer in the water
• Apex predator
• Large jaw wasn't main killing source
• Swam to prey at high speed to stun in and paralyze it for a few minutes for it to float to the top

• Bartonian to Priabonian time (41-33 million years ago)
• Found in USA,‭ ‬Egypt,‭‭ ‬Pakistan
• Carnivorous diet
• Thought to be a reptile, but it's actually a mammal
• Represented early whales
• Large jaws to catch prey
• Tail allowed it to have speed bursts to catch fast-swimming prey
• Had weak muscles and hollow vertebrae
• Restricted movement
• Swam and hunted in shallower waters

• Cretaceous time (85-65 million years ago)
• Carnivorous diet
• Found in USA, mostly Kansas
• Used long neck to feed
• used stalking methods since it can't swim fast
• Nearly impossible for it to walk on land or stick it's head out of the water due to it's large tissue mass

• Only heavily armored head was found
• Estimated soft body from lack of rear fossils
• Used heavy armored body for protection against other predators
• Had large, strong jaws to cut through other armored prey
• Slow swimmer since body was so heavy

Up to 15 meters long

• Found in England, Norway, France, Poland, and Russia
• Kimmeridgian to Tithonian period (152-145 million years ago)
• Apex predator
• Had large jaws to attack large prey
• One of the most deadly marine reptiles

• Carnian to Norian time (228-208 million years ago)
• Found:
• USA,‭ ‬California‭,‭ ‬Canada, ‬China
• Ate mostly soft-bodied cephalopods
• Torpedo-shaped bodies
• The largest currently known marine reptile

Small average up to‭ ‬10‭ ‬meters long with 2 meter skulls

Large average between‭ ‬10-12.8‭ ‬meters long.

up to 14 meters

Up to 18 meters long

Up to 10 meters long

Skull: 2.7 meters

8-10m (30 feet) long

Size

Biography

Biography

Size

• Fossils have been found worldwide
• Cenozoic era (28-2 million years ago)
• Ultimate apex predator
• Had white underside and dark top to disguise itself in deep waters as well as shallow waters
• No creature was safe from the Megalon

Biography

• Carnivorous diet
• Found in Peru
• Seravallian age (13-11 million years ago)
• Named after biblical sea monster Leviathan
• Size of body compared to those of sperm whales
• Apex predator
• 36cm long teeth
• Considered to be the largest known teeth for eating purposes
• Eating habits still unknown, but thought to have used echolocation to find prey
• Swim under prey and crush rib cage
• Trap prey from above so it can't breath

Up to 20 meters long

Skull found‭ ‬3‭ ‬meters long‭

‬Total size between ‬13.5‭ ‬and‭ ‬17.5‭ ‬meters long.

• Found in Canada, ‬USA,‭ ‬Europe,‭ ‬Morocco
• Lived during the Devonian period (370-360 million years ago)
• Apex predator
• Ate anything that got in it's way
• No predators
• One of the first fish to mate physically

Up to 21 meters long

Prehistoric Marine

Predators

Maddie Sherman

Oceanography

Bibliography

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/prehistoric_life/dinosaurs/seamonsters/

http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/top-tens/top-ten-marine-predators.html

http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/m/megalodon.html

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/prehistoric-world/prehistoric-time-line/